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Biden Fans Will Be Furious with Ilhan Omar After Her New Statement

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“The squad” was never particularly all that excited about the prospects of a Joe Biden presidency.

All four originally endorsed candidates not named Biden, with three out of four backing Bernie Sanders.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar of New York and Minnesota, respectively, were both two of Bernie’s most vocal surrogates during his presidential campaign.

However, unless you’re one of those deluded liberals still clinging to the railings of the nearly sunk SS Bernie, hoping that the Tara Reade allegations will pave the way for a certain rumpled socialist to sit atop the Democratic ticket come this fall, Joe Biden is pretty much the left’s only choice unless they want another four years of the man they’ve spent the last half-decade aggressively demonizing.

Ilhan Omar, it appears, is clinging on to those railings.

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In an interview with the U.K.’s Sunday Times published this week, the Minnesota congresswoman revealed she believes Reade’s allegations of sexual assault against Biden.

The occasion was a lengthy piece regarding her new memoir “This is What America Looks Like.” At least in terms of thoughts regarding the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, her opinions may not quite be what the left is hoping America looks like.

“Say what you like about Omar, and people have, and people will, she is undeniably a woman doing it on her own terms,” the article reads.

“I am a natural starter of fires,’ she writes in the book and she finishes with one more burst of flame, emphasising that she believes the sexual assault allegations made by Tara Reade against Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, which Biden has denied. ‘I do believe Reade,’ she says. ‘Justice can be delayed, but should never be denied.’ If it was up to her, she says, Biden wouldn’t be the candidate.”

Do you believe Tara Reade's allegations against Joe Biden?

Well, that definitely qualifies as naturally starting a fire.

On Tuesday, Omar backtracked on her comments.

Appearing Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Omar said the comments were weeks old and that she’d had a change of heart in part due to reporting on Reade’s background, including allegations she’d exaggerated her credentials in order to qualify as an expert witness for domestic violence cases.

“Let me say I plan on supporting and helping … Joe Biden in defeating Trump,” Omar said.

She added that defeating President Donald Trump would “restore our democracy” — interesting inasmuch as our democracy is what got Trump elected in the first place, but apparently someone got the talking points to her in time.

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However, Omar still isn’t discounting Reade’s allegations.

“There’s obviously parts of what she has said that has been corroborated, parts of it that hasn’t, that is not my place to litigate her story,” Omar said.

“I think it is important when somebody says they have been assaulted and they see themselves as survivors that we, as we have been saying, believe survivors.”

While Omar’s statement is the most condemnatory among members of “the squad” regarding Reade, it’s worth nothing she’s not the only member of the fab four that hasn’t discounted Reade’s accusations.

In a May 7 NPR interview, Ocasio-Cortez expressed ambivalence over Reade’s allegations.

“There have been investigative journalists that have corroborated certain aspects of her account — that is undeniable — [and] have raised questions about other aspects of her account,” she said.

“It certainly seems as though something has happened. I’m not sure,” she continued, adding, “Frankly, this is a messy moment, and I think we need to acknowledge that — that it is not clear-cut.”

Ocasio-Cortez has yet to endorse Biden, although she says she’ll vote for him.

On both accounts, you’re left wondering whether you should give AOC and Omar points for following their “believe all women” rhetoric or marvel at their ability to commit political suicide so early in their careers.

On one hand, there was something lowering and dispiriting about the parade of Democrats willing to say they believed Joe Biden while they were, not too long ago, cosigning Christine Blasey Ford’s sexual assault claims against Brett Kavanaugh. The primary difference was, of course, the party affiliation.

On the other hand, Democrats need youth turnout to take back 1600 Pennsylvania, and no one turns out feckless young socialists quite like “the squad.” If AOC and Omar aren’t willing to dismiss Reade’s allegations out of hand and aren’t particularly enthusiastic about supporting Biden, that’s not a good sign — especially since the electoral margin in Omar’s Minnesota was much closer than anyone predicted in the 2016 presidential election.

The mainstream of the Democratic Party has always wondered just how much to embrace the new young left. If this is what we can plan to see from “the squad” over the next few months, expect the establishment to start aggressively socially distancing themselves from Ocasio-Cortez, Omar and their friends.

Either way, this isn’t exactly a turn of events Joe Biden ought to be happy about.

Republicans who want to look into Reade’s allegations are one thing. Prominent Democrats saying the same thing is a much bigger problem — and it’s one that’s going to have Trump smiling.

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C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014.
C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014. Aside from politics, he enjoys spending time with his wife, literature (especially British comic novels and modern Japanese lit), indie rock, coffee, Formula One and football (of both American and world varieties).
Birthplace
Morristown, New Jersey
Education
Catholic University of America
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Topics of Expertise
American Politics, World Politics, Culture




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